Laptops for Business

The Importance of Laptops in Education

Learning computer skills has become an essential part of education now. Apart from that, no matter what skill you are learning or which subject you are studying, you need a computer to avail benefits of online education. Even back in pre-covid days, laptops and computers played a crucial role in education. Students could stay connected with teachers all the time. They would ease the study research and enable faster completion of assignments. With the help of the Internet, keen students can stay updated about the latest advancement and curricula of any subject they like. With the pandemic and lockdown in force, online education became the only mode of education for some time, making it essential for students to buy a laptop. Even now, though schools have started opening up, there’s no guarantee that they will close down again due to subsequent waves of Covid. It’s, therefore, best for students to be prepared and buy a decent laptop now instead of waiting for offline schools to stop once again.

Access to a laptop has become mandatory for every student today no matter where they’re based. After realizing the situation, many schools, NGOs, and government bodies are coming forth so that they can provide every student with access to a personal laptop and the Internet. Even now, when some schools and colleges are going back to their usual operations as the COVID pandemic starts diminishing slowly, no one can deny that online education is the new normal now.

Benefits of Online Education

Though online education has been forced on everyone, it has actually accelerated the adoption of digital technology in the education sector. There are many benefits to it like:

  • Online education keeps us safe at home while studying and learning new skills, and helps us embrace the real power of knowledge. Using the internet as the standard medium for education, it has become easier to access information outside textbooks. This way, students can stay updated on the latest changes, research, and news.
  • On the other hand, where a laptop seems like a hefty investment, students end up saving a lot by buying fewer books. They are also buying a lot less paper for study purposes, which saves money and reduces paper wastage worldwide, boosting an eco-friendly planet.
  • With increased collaboration among students and teachers, clearing doubts and preparing for exams has become more accessible. This has also reduced the cost of pursuing any course and learning new skills. Moreover, you can learn from the best educators overseas from home, without any passport, VISA, or accommodation costing.

So, at first, it looks like an unfair move from the point of view of economically weaker students; but it is a blessing in disguise from the same perspective.

How A Personal Laptop Can Help Students

With access to a personal laptop, a student can do more than attend online classes. They can pursue extracurricular activities while staying safe at home and learning to utilize time more precisely. Completing assignments on time and creating notes with the help of the internet is another important aspect. With personal laptops, students can collaborate with teachers and other fellow students to prepare for the exam.

Apart from attending boring classroom lectures, they can go through interactive live sessions and many video presentations to grasp more on the topic. They can learn more thoroughly and practice more by attending lots of online mock tests and practise sets.

Participating in open live sessions, applying for graduation, diploma, and post-graduation in reputed institutions, and attending job interviews worldwide have become easier with this new everyday culture.

Not only the students, but modern-day teachers also have to embrace this culture. By using a laptop, a teacher can ensure all their students are on the same page, and they can make themselves constantly available to students who need more attention.

Features to Consider in a Laptop for Online Education

For students, there are some essential features they must have on their laptop.

  • Camera: Students have to attend countless online classes, in which a good quality camera is mandatory. At Least a 5MP camera with 720P capture resolution is needed for the purpose. On the other hand, they also need a camera shutter to protect their privacy from unauthorized access.
  • Battery: The most important feature a student needs in their laptop is a powerful battery. Without long battery life, a laptop is not good for online educational. To stay independent of power sources while studying, you should go with a laptop that features 8+ hours of battery backup. The HP 15s-eq2143AU is a perfect example of such a laptop. Powered by AMD Ryzen 3, it features 9+ hours of battery life.
  • Connectivity: The powerful WiFi 6.0 connectivity feature is mandatory so that users can access the Internet from an available hotspot. If you cannot afford a broadband connection, you have to use smartphones as the data hotspot, where high-speed WiFi can help a lot.
  • Mic: When attending online classes without headphones, sound quality speakers with a noise cancellation microphone are necessary, using which they can communicate clearly.
  • Metal Build: Opting for an Aluminum body laptop will ensure more rigidity and longevity.

Specs to Consider

As a student, your needs for a laptop are precise. You don’t need a very high-end laptop, but a dependable one. You don’t want to be hindered when you focus on studying, so you need a laptop that you can rely on to work smoothly without any lag.

CPU: A student needs a dependable CPU to handle multitasking. You need to attend video lectures on platforms like Skype or Zoom and have to access their email account, Google Drive, and many other study materials simultaneously. So, low-end CPUs like Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon are not recommended. Students should go with the latest-gen entry-level CPUs like Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3. These CPUs come at a reasonable price and perform well enough to satisfy the computation needs.

RAM: A student should go with 8 GB RAM, which will help them multitask and run the laptop smoothly. An upgrade in RAM might be needed later if the student opts for Machine Learning or Data Science later. The HP Laptop 15s-fq2626TU comes with 8GB RAM and 11th gen Intel Core 3 CPU, and it is very much suitable for online education.

A dedicated GPU is not a must for a student from the online education perspective. So, as parents, you save some money on that if you do not have a high budget. Truth be told, around ₹45,000 is a decent budget to consider for a student laptop.

Check out the HP Online store to find such suitable laptops at a fair price.